Films can get financing based on the attachment of a recognizable cast, and when a film’s director has previous credits producing known films, it makes it easier to bring elements together, whether or not the script is any good.

Chris Brinker makes his directorial debut with Bad Country, but he’s got producer credits going back to The Boondock Saints. And so he was able to bring in Boondock co-star Willem Dafoe to star in this cat and mouse story of a cop tracking down a killer. Also in the cast are Matt Dillon, Amy Smart, Tom Berenger, Bill Duke and Neal McDonough, not that any of it will probably matter. The first trailer for the film is pretty painful, but it has Dafoe looking mustachioed and haggard, and it’s worth the investment of a couple minutes just to enjoy his presence. Read More »

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers?

I don’t know what to make of the trailer for The Big Bang. The way this thing is cut, it looks like a weird blend of neo noir, Frank Miller and early Guy Ritchie. Is that good, or bad? I really don’t know. What I do know is that Sam Elliott and William Fichtner have supporting roles, and I’ll watch them in almost anything. Check out the trailer after the break. Read More »